The reindeer hunters from Jels - the first people in Denmark

The first people in Denmark arrived over 13.400 years ago. They lived for a short time in the area around Jels and left visible traces. They were the first gastrotourists - they came here for food. They actually followed the food. 

This is where they could have arrived. Right here, where on the Hærvejen hiking route you round the edge of the forest and get a wide view over the meadow - down to Jels Midtsø. It wasn't called that back then. There were no place names, no people, no buildings. Here it was empty, tundra and quiet. And cold. Because it was while the ice age was winding down. The ice cap was retreating, leaving behind a barren, damp, plantless landscape that gradually developed into a tundra landscape that we know from the northern regions of Scandinavia today and even later into a landscape with scattered birch trees.

We are about 14.000 years back in time. "Those" who arrived actually came from quite far south. They migrated from an area north of Hamburg, which is why we call them the Hamburg culture today. They came to get meat, skins and hides from the reindeer. That is why we also call them the first gastrotourists in Denmark. They were here for a short time - maybe just a summer or two. They had larger settlements nearby, where they processed flint into tools and handled meat and skins for later use, while the hunting ground was here close to the lake. 

The first people may have come to the same place where you are standing now - and may have looked out over the lakes, seen the hill on the other side. Seen a narrow place that formed a natural constriction in the landscape. Seen that the shape of the landscape could support their hunting technique. They made a hunting camp on the hill, and when the large herds of reindeer had to pass through the tunnel valley on their migration for food, the herd moved slower and became more elongated, and thus it became easier to pounce on the individual animals. Arrowheads have been found in the area - and in reindeer bones - but we do not know whether bows and arrows, throwing spears or something completely different were used.   

When we know exactly where the first tourists (some believe that they were the first people in Denmark) came from, it is because lots of flint tools have been found at the settlements, among other things they used a so-called zinken, which is a small tool with a curved tip at one end. It was probably the Hamburg culture's multitool and was used to work reindeer skins. The amount of arrowheads, chipped flint and tools means that these are some of the largest settlements from the Hamburg culture. 

As a factual quirk, the first archaeological finds of the Hamburg culture were made by a local amateur archaeologist back in 1968 on the south side of Jels Oversø. It started with a piece of flint that had a curved tip at one end, and which was amazing. The settlement areas were investigated in more detail by professional archaeologists in 1981-1984, and large quantities of flint have been found around Jels Sø. 

Distance to Hærvejen: 
Hiking route: 0 m
Cycle route: 1,8 km - from the town of Jels along Koldingvej. 

(AND for those of you who are really into history, yes, we know that there were no black and white cows back then (one of the pictures) and we also know that the Jels Lakes looked different back then, and we know that the settlements were some distance away from where this story is set. But along the Hærvejen you can experience the ENTIRE history of Denmark, and we think that the story of the first modern people in Scandinavia belongs in the ENTIRE history of Denmark).  

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